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Addazio was a four-year starter at Central Connecticut from 1978 to 1981 and earned tryouts with the NFL's New England Patriots, USFL's Jacksonville Bulls and CFL's Ottawa Roughriders. He earned his bachelor's (1981) and master's (1985) degrees from Central Connecticut.

Addazio was the head coach of Cheshire High School in Connecticut from 1988 to 1994 Over twenty of his high school players earned places on the roster of college football programs. He led Cheshire to thirty-four consecutive victories, the second longest streak in the nation. Cheshire also won three consecutive state titles and was ranked in the top twenty-five high school football teams in the country under Addazio.[1]

Starting in 1995, Addazio moved up to the college football ranks and had stints as a position coach with Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Indiana. During 2004, he was offensive coordinator at Indiana during Gerry DiNardo's last season.[1] In 2005, Addazio joined Urban Meyer's staff at Florida. Addazio and Meyer had previously coached together at Notre Dame during the 1999 and 2000 seasons under head coach Bob Davie.

With the announcement of Urban Meyer's resignation as the Gators' head coach on December 7, 2010, Addazio's future with the Gators came into question. On December 11, 2010, it was announced that Will Muschamp had accepted the head coach position for the Florida Gators.

On December 23, 2010, it was announced that Steve Addazio accepted the head coaching job at Temple. Following Al Golden's resignation as the Owls' head coach to become the new head coach of the Miami Hurricanes football program,[2] Steve Addazio began his duties as the head coach of the Temple Owls football program.

Addazio was an immediate success in his first season as coach of the Eagles, completing an impressive turnaround from a dismal 2–10 season under Spaziani to a 7–6 campaign and their first bowl appearance since 2010. With his strong and outgoing personality, Addazio facilitated a total culture change in the locker room, on the field, and in the stands. Emphasizing a proud school history and prestige, he motivated and inspired the student-athletes and fans to a degree which had not been seen in years at the Heights. His effect was immediately noticeable, and tangible to the spectators, as the Eagles won their first two games of the 2013 season against the Villanova Wildcats and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, matching their win total from the previous season. They won their 6th game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on the final home game of the season, traditionally senior day at most schools, spurring the fans to rush the field to celebrate the team's accomplishment of reaching bowl eligibility. Although the Eagles lost to the Arizona Wildcats in the Independence Bowl, the season was considered a resounding success given the team's immediate turnaround under Addazio.

A major part of Addazio and the Eagles' success was the change of their offensive mindset, transitioning from a "Huck-it, Chuck-it" passing game, to a "ground-and-pound" running game. The majority of plays called by Addazio and newly appointed offensive coordinator Ryan Day were rushes, despite having a strong-arm asset in senior quarterback Chase Rettig, who threw for over 3,000 yards the previous season, and one of the best wide receivers in the ACC, Alex Amidon, who owns school records for both receptions and yards caught in a season. Most of these running plays were handed off to senior running back Andre Williams who, as a result of the change in game-plan, emerged as a superstar and a Heisman trophy candidate. Rushing for 2,177 yards on the year, Williams finished 6th on the all-time list for most rushing yards in a season and finished 4th in the Heisman trophy voting. He also won the Doak Walker Award as the best running back in the country, and was a Walter Camp Award finalist. After his standout season, Williams was drafted in the 4th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Addazio also had the luxury of coaching one of the best place-kickers in the nation that season, Nate Freese, who, despite owning a 100% kicking percentage, was not a Lou Groza Award finalist. Freese made 20/20 field goals, including a game-winning 53 yard field goal against the Maryland Terrapins. Freese was drafted in the 7th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Other standout players include senior linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, who was drafted in the 4th round by the Seattle Seahawks, graduate-transfer guard Matt Patchan, who followed Addazio from the University of Florida and was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent, and senior linebacker Kasim Edebali who was signed by the New Orleans Saints.

In his second season at the helm of the Eagles, Addazio brought more of the same seen in 2013. A second straight 7–5 regular season was considered a success, as it cemented the baseline for what is to be expected under Addazio-coached teams, i.e. 2013 was not a fluke. It was also a success in that the pre-season expectations were low, considering the large loss of personnel due to graduation, including seniors Andre Williams, Chase Rettig, Alex Amidon, Nate Freese, and Kevin Pierre-Louis. In order to replace some of the losses, Addazio brought in another Florida-transfer, quarterback Tyler Murphy, who led the team with his legs, becoming one of the best running quarterbacks in the nation by rushing for over 1,000 yards on the year. To complement Murphy, Addazio added multiple threats out of the backfield, including true-freshman Jonathan Hilliman and Sherman Allston, and sophomores Myles Willis and Tyler Rouse, each of whom contributed to the successful season in multiple ways. The season was highlighted by a historic upset victory over the #9 ranked USC Trojans, in which Tyler Murphy rushed for 191 yards, including a game-sealing 66-yard rushing touchdown. The Eagles bought their ticket to a second straight bowl game with their 6th win of the season over the Virginia Tech Hokies, and finished the season off with a victory on senior day over the rival Syracuse Orange. They played in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl versus the Penn State Nittany Lions, losing a tight and exciting 31–30 contest in overtime, to finish with a consecutive 7–6 season.

On December 18, Addazio signed a contract extension through 2020, extending his previous six year deal by two years. This was partially in response to Addazio's name coming up as a potential candidate for the coaching vacancy at Michigan.[4]